The Going Visual Blog hosts an ongoing conversation on the emerging evolution of communication from text to still and video images using technologies such as digital cameras, camera-phones and other mobile devices, videocams, computers, software and communication networks. It is a living diary of the state and direction of visual communication.

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February 22, 2006

MVNO Helio To Offer MySpace, 2MP Camera-Phones

By Tony Henning

MVNO Helio, the partnership between Earthlink and SK
Telecom, has released some more details about its impending launch this spring that
include an exclusive deal with MySpace and some nifty Korean handsets. The
partnership with MySpace brings the popular social networking service to
mobiles. The “MySpace Mobile On Helio” will leverage the advanced capabilities
of Helio mobiles to keep MySpace members connected to their network through
mail, bulletins, profiles, blogs and photo galleries, Helio said. Photos can be
posted directly from Helio devices and photos viewed will be optimized for the
devices as well.

While the market is crowded with MVNOs targeting the youth
demographic (Virgin, Amp’d, Boost, to name a few), Helio seems to have scored a
major coup by incorporating MySpace. The site is the second-most-viewed-website
in the U.S. behind only Yahoo and has an estimated 55 million users. It also
accounts for 12 percent of online advertising, which may be an interesting
value proposition in itself for Helio.

On the handset side, we’ve already reported on the VK Mobile
650c, a swivel-style handset with a 2MP camera, MP3 player, VOD/MOD and TV out. The
650c, a variant of the VK600C offered in Korea by SK, will be known as the
Helio Kickflip, because you just have to give it a nudge to flip it open in
either direction. The other handset exclusive to Helio will be a slider model
from Pantech, known as the Hero. While the Kickflip is ‘pearlescent’ (AKA
white) and features a day-themed interface, the jet-black Hero has a
night-themed interface. Both “elegant, luminescent” user interfaces are
designed by, and exclusive to, Helio. The Hero also has a 2MP camera with
digital zoom and flash, a 2.2-inch, QVGA, 262,144-color LCD display, full
duplex stereo speakers, 70 MB of memory and miniSD removable memory. Measuring
4.3 x 1.9 x 1 inch and 4.7 oz, the Hero supports streaming video on-demand and
mobile Flash content. No prices have been announced.

We’re particularly interested in Helio because
it’s the first MVNO to put an emphasis on bringing otherwise unavailable
advanced Korean handsets to the U.S. market. “For years, we’ve waited patiently
for real wireless innovation to make its way from places like Korea to the U.S.
In the meantime, we’ve lived with low-end devices, uninspired service and
yesterday’s technology,” said Sky Dayton, founder of Earthlink and chief
executive officer of Helio, Inc. “So we created a brand just for us, with
innovation directly from the most advanced wireless market in the world, to
give young, tech-savvy consumers what we’ve all been waiting for.” We’re still
waiting for a truly imaging-centric MVNO — with the devices and services to
really deliver on the promise of Mobile Imaging — but in the meantime we’ll
settle for at least the snazzy Koran camera-phones.